Menua Shamiram Water Canal The Menua Shamiram Water Canal, which spans approximately 50 kilometers, has been supplying fresh water from the plains of Gürpınar to the Van Plain for the past 2,800 years. Built by Menua, the ruler of the Urartians from 810 BC to 786 BC, the canal was constructed to provide sustainable habitability to the mountainous region, which experienced long periods without rainfall and was densely forested. It is one of many water management projects Menua implemented to convert the region into a flat plain using irrigation canals. Remarkably, some of the Urartian water architecture monuments, including dams and irrigation channels, still function in the region today. Researchers have also noted that these structures are unlike any other water management systems in the world. This is particularly significant given the area's proximity to earthquakes, which have destroyed monuments from other civilizations. The Menua canal remains an important piece of infrastructure, irrigating 5000 hectares of land along its length and sustaining agricultural life in the region. Its enduring legacy serves as a testament to the ingenuity and engineering prowess of the Urartians.